Tag Archives: Republican

So, in what seems to be a great vehicle for both comedy and exposure of an awful practice that non-white men and women practice is back in the news ~~ skin whitening. Comedian and risk taker, Nick Cannon created a new character named, “Connor Smallnut.” I have to admit seeing him in white face was concerning heard myself gasp said oh no! Why? We don’t like folks in “black face,”thought this cannot be good, but it actually exposes what seems to be a growing practice in the US … skin whitening, specifically by non-whites.

Here we are in 2018 people, and today 2/11/2018 i see a picture of sammy sosa in a cowboy outfit …no problem but looking at the photo apparently the skin is still being bleached and though i am no expert it doesn’t look the skin is holding up …

My problem years ago as stated again and again, is when the industry says lighter brighter whiter is better and gets you more work!

In October of 2013, disturbing news regarding skin whitening popped up and now, I find myself having to update my post from 5/28. I get a lot of digital news and while going through it, out pops an article … not the first, this was an attempt to voice a personal experience, knowledge of Skin Whiteningproducts , how wide spread it is and who may be using it to improve their careers. I admit… I wondered what Century are we in and will common sense prevail. I welcome all those willing to shine a light on this terrible practice and maybe a jab or two at those promoting this awful practice. However, I did find that folks continue to pull MJ into the skin whitening practice and I would like to say and clear up something ~~ MJ did have vitiligo … the end.

In 2009, reports were that Asians spent an estimated $18 billion a year to appear pale. Today, this Billion dollar business is … in my opinion taking advantage of women of all races, their personal insecurities in an industry that has created among other things bobble heads, eating disorders, height/weight anxiety, liquid diets, long hair syndrome and many more creative ways that make folks unsure, doubtful, hesitant, self-conscious, making them reactive not proactive . Apparently, otherwise reasonably smart folks believe lighter brighter and whiter is more likely to increase your status as well. I will say it again, it is sad and very disturbing

I have to ask why after reading that in the year 2013 well-known entertainers are using Skin Whitening products to cross over for more acceptance or work. It would be easy to say … FYI, you’re still who you were before bleaching your skin but the practice begs the question … are you getting more work, more hits on your site and more folks are hitting on you … what?

because …

No matter how light you go your personality is only as good as your authenticity …

The list of suspects by digital tabloids includes but is not confirmed are:

This is a repost.

why? because it’s 2018 and a picture of sammy sosa is in the news and while the practice of lightening skin is as old as passing. Who doesn’t wonder how safe it is and what mental place takes a person to do such a thing.

It was the year 2015, and yet another article about skin whitener is in the news! given the 2014 articles on Lupita Nyong’o mentioning Dencia in her 2/27/2014 speech regarding her dark skin and how our society has … on numerous occasion been cruel enough to consider skin whitening and to hate being black it’s important to keep updating this post. Thing is dencia didn’t see it for the ugly practice that most see it, but as free advertising and used the opportunity to admonish Lupita, calling her a slave while claiming not to know her.

So, here we are again .. I don’t have to say reports are or tabloids said, though some of the 207+ that had to comment felt that filters were used and the pigment change could be temporary. Well, my question is why do this to begin with. I can’t lie , I was hoping this was just a fad, but MadameNoire.com has a couple of articles about skin whitening recounting sales being up by 1000%, then up pops out an article by Thelma who says she is light to begin with and because she does a lot of different kinds of shoots her coloring looks different ~~ the internet blew up! sure it looks different

According to the World Health Organization, about 77 percent of Nigerian women regularly use skin lightening products, and with famous people who should know better pushing such foolishness, I can see why the numbers might be so high. Do what you want to yourself, but don’t peddle that s**t to your people and try to pretend like it’s solely for cleaning up dark spots here and there when people’s body parts are turning a completely different color (see below). Photos from MadameNoire

It’s 2014, when will we stop with this?

Instagram

…After…Whitenicious.com

Whitenicious.com Check out Dencia in action above

Below is O’khaz

O’khaz said that while she is naturally lighter skinned, she is not Casper-white as we see in the picture. She also emphatically denies ever bleaching her skin. Instead, she says that the ghostly white image making its way around the Internet is photo-shopped.

“I take a lot of pictures for different purposes, some for movie posters. And this one is for a movie so when its out I’ll let u know,’ she writes.

O’khaz, who has appeared in dozens of Nollywood films including Costly Mistakes, White Hunters and Return of the White Hunters (the latter two are available for free streaming), couldn’tgo into much detail about the yet to be titled film for which the photos were taken. However, O’khaz can be seen in the upcoming films projects: Street Money:Occultic Sister and 89 Years in Bondage, which are due out next month. Also a much more natural skin toned O’khaz can be seen in her new video for the song, “I Like the Way,” which from her debut album Ready For You.

Lonnie Bunch, museum director, historian, lecturer, and author, is proud to present A Page from Our American Story, a regular on-line series for Museum supporters. It will showcase individuals and events in the African American experience, placing these stories in the context of a larger story — our American story.

Freddie Stowers, the grandson of a South Carolina slave, holds a unique spot in America’s pantheon of war heroes — as the only African American awarded the Medal of Honor for service in World War I. Stowers’ story, however, must be told in two parts.

The first part of the story is his act of heroism in 1918; the second part is that it took more than 72 years before Stowers finally received the recognition he was due.

The United States was the last major combatant to enter World War I, the “war to end all wars.” The conflict began in Europe in 1914, but in the U.S., isolationist sentiments were strong resulting in a foreign policy of non-intervention. However, in April 1917, after a German U-boat sank the British ship Lusitania, killing 128 Americans on board, President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany. Three months later, on July 3, 1917, American troops landed in France.

Corporal Freddie Stowers came to France as part of the all-black Company C, 371st Regiment, 93rd Division that deployed in September, 1918. His service in France was short but courageous and memorable.

More than 50 years after the Civil War, America’s military was still segregated. The French, however, had no such rules, and Stowers and Company C were sent to the front lines to serve alongside French troops.

On September 28, just days after arriving in France, Stowers’ company was in the midst of an attack on Hill 188, Champagne Marne Sector, France, when enemy forces appeared to be giving up.

According to the War Department, German soldiers emerged from their trenches waving a white flag, arms in the air — military actions that signal surrender. It was a ruse, however. As Americans, including Cpl. Stowers, went to capture the “surrendering” Germans, another wave of the enemy arose and opened fire.

Very quickly, Company C’s lieutenant and non-commissioned officers were killed in the fight. This left the 21-year-old Stowers in command. Without hesitation, he implored his men to advance on the Germans.

Stowers would be mortally shot during the exchange. Wounded and dying, Stowers continued to fight on, inspiring his men to push the enemy back. With Stowers leading the counter-attack, Americans took out an enemy machine gun position and went on to capture Hill 188.

Following the battle, Stowers’ commanding officer nominated him for the Medal of Honor, but the nomination was never processed. The Pentagon said the paperwork was misplaced. Some raise the possibility that the nomination wasn’t misplaced at all, but deliberately lost. They point to the fact that American troops were segregated and suggest that racial bias in the military might be the reason for Stowers’ missing paperwork.

The final part of Freddie Stowers’ story begins in 1990. As the Department of Defense began to modernize its data systems, it ordered a review of all battlefield medal nominations. When Stowers’ recommendation was found, the Pentagon quickly took action to give the corporal the long overdue recognition and honor he deserved.

After the posthumous presentation of the Medal of Honor
to the sisters of Corporal (CPL) Freddie Stowers byPresident George H. W. Bush, Mrs. Barbara Bush and
Mary Bowens admire the Medal of Honor certificate.
Ms Bowens is CPL Stowers’ sister. His other sister
Georgina Palmer (far left) looks on. CPL Stowers is the
only Black American to receive the Medal for action during
World War I. Photo: Robert Ward, DOD PA, April 4, 1991.

On April 24, 1991, more than 72 years after Stowers made the ultimate sacrifice for his nation, his sisters Georgiana Palmer and Mary Bowens, 88- and 77-years-old at the time, were presented his Medal of Honor by President George H. W. Bush.

Long before Stowers was honored by his nation, he, along with other members of Company C, received recognition from the French government: “For extraordinary heroism under fire.” Stowers and his unit received the Croix de Guerre – the French War Cross — the highest military medal France awards to allied soldiers.

Prior to World War I, 49 African Americans had been awarded the Medal of Honor, including 25 men who fought for the Union in the Civil War. There were 119 Medals of Honor recipients in World War I, with Stowers being the only African American. His long overdue recognition in 1991 is a small but important sign of the progress we as a nation have made.

The museum will be far more than a collection of objects. The Museum will be a powerful, positive force in the national discussion about race and the important role African Americans have played in the American story — a museum that will make all Americans proud.

a repost

So, Lupita Nyong’o was at the Essence Magazine 7th Annual Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon in Beverly Hills, California, USA, honoured with the Breakthrough Performance Award. I had to read and re-read the speech below because she addressed my own call for People of Colour to STOP the practice of skin whitening. This practice is far from new,it has unfortunately become a billion dollar snake that needs its head cut off, a severe reprimand of those who push white is right, begin to provide services that help those who hate themselves and the skin they live in. The speech is beyond illuminating lest we say eloquent and she addressed a letter, in which she talked about a fan who wrote to her about hating her dark skin so much she had bought the controversial skin lightening cream by Dencia called Whitenicious …Lupita spoke about Dencia’s skin bleaching cream, her own issues with hating her dark skin as a teenager & more … below

Lupita’s speech: I wrote down this speech, I had no time to practice so this will be the practicing session.

Thank you Alfre, for such an amazing, amazing introduction and celebration of my work. And thank you very much for inviting me to be a part of such an extraordinary community.

I am surrounded by people who have inspired me, women in particular whose presence on screen made me feel a little more seen and heard and understood. That it is ESSENCE that holds this event celebrating our professional gains of the year is significant, a beauty magazine that recognizes the beauty that we not just possess but also produce.

I want to take this opportunity to talk about beauty, Black beauty, dark beauty. I received a letter from a girl and I’d like to share just a small part of it with you: “Dear Lupita,” it reads, “I think you’re really lucky to be this Black but yet this successful in Hollywood overnight. I was just about to buy Dencia’s Whitenicious cream to lighten my skin when you appeared on the world map and saved me.”

My heart bled a little when I read those words, I could never have guessed that my first job out of school would be so powerful in and of itself and that it would propel me to be such an image of hope in the same way that the women of The Color Purple were to me.

I remember a time when I too felt unbeautiful. I put on the TV and only saw pale skin, I got teased and taunted about my night-shaded skin. And my one prayer to God, the miracle worker, was that I would wake up lighter-skinned. The morning would come and I would be so excited about seeing my new skin that I would refuse to look down at myself until I was in front of a mirror because I wanted to see my fair face first. And every day I experienced the same disappointment of being just as dark as I was the day before. I tried to negotiate with God, I told him I would stop stealing sugar cubes at night if he gave me what I wanted, I would listen to my mother’s every word and never lose my school sweater again if he just made me a little lighter. But I guess God was unimpressed with my bargaining chips because He never listened.

And when I was a teenager my self-hate grew worse, as you can imagine happens with adolescence. My mother reminded me often that she thought that I was beautiful but that was no conservation, she’s my mother, of course she’s supposed to think I am beautiful. And then…Alek Wek. A celebrated model, she was dark as night, she was on all of the runways and in every magazine and everyone was talking about how beautiful she was. Even Oprah called her beautiful and that made it a fact. I couldn’t believe that people were embracing a woman who looked so much like me, as beautiful. My complexion had always been an obstacle to overcome and all of a sudden Oprah was telling me it wasn’t. It was perplexing and I wanted to reject it because I had begun to enjoy the seduction of inadequacy. But a flower couldn’t help but bloom inside of me, when I saw Alek I inadvertently saw a reflection of myself that I could not deny.

Now, I had a spring in my step because I felt more seen, more appreciated by the far away gatekeepers of beauty. But around me the preference for my skin prevailed, to the courters that I thought mattered I was still unbeautiful. And my mother again would say to me you can’t eat beauty, it doesn’t feed you and these words plagued and bothered me; I didn’t really understand them until finally I realized that beauty was not a thing that I could acquire or consume, it was something that I just had to be.

And what my mother meant when she said you can’t eat beauty was that you can’t rely on how you look to sustain you. What is fundamentally beautiful is compassion for yourself and for those around you. That kind of beauty enflames the heart and enchants the soul. It is what got Patsey in so much trouble with her master, but it is also what has kept her story alive to this day. We remember the beauty of her spirit even after the beauty of her body has faded away.

And so I hope that my presence on your screens and in the magazines may lead you, young girl, on a similar journey. That you will feel the validation of your external beauty but also get to the deeper business of being beautiful inside.

There is no shame in Black beauty.

Lupita’s speech is a letter filled with humor , love and a lot of wisdom for little girls of colour from 1 – 98 who need to be taught self-love while the entertainment business needs to accept that POC come in all colours shapes sizes, speak different and some of us don’t sing or dance, but plenty of us have great talent that should be accepted without having to make drastic changes to our features like skin whitening to get a part or a job …crossover ~~ Nativegrl77

I included a 5/3/2016 from dailykos above because this horrible practice is finally getting more airtime .. however slow this is i definitely welcome it !

picture is from the internet

Product Review … questions

I love products, mostly lotions, scrubs, lip balm, body wash and hair regimen products. I admit that there was a time when my skin turned on me and eczema ruled then allergies then some other stuff so, I spent some time under the lights as well as in the sun and makeup to even out my skin colour …because I needed it. I am sure you all know our skin changes due to the environment as well as hormones so reading about women choosing to change their skin colour was disturbing.

Whitening the skin is not new … and while I am definitely no expert, as a consumer of beauty products quite frankly I want to know and pass that information along as well.

However, a practice definitely needs to end as soon as possible. I do not get whitening your skin and since when did lighten & brighten mean gaining youthful skin

I get emails from virtual stores and was interested in Dr. Brandt until I saw the descriptions of a product called,” light years away”! If you read Dr. Brandt’s description of light years it says whitening; so, because it bothered me , I emailed gilt to find out some information … below is the list and my request:

Light years away® whitening cream cleanser, Size: 15 g

Light years away® whitening essence, Size: 20 ml

Light years away® whitening renewal solution, Size: 5 ml

Light years away® brightening eye cream, Size: 15 g

Light years away® whitening cream, Size: 5 g

I have no idea if this product is labeled correctly but knowing how women are whitening their skin these days – here as well as in other countries … and in my opinion, it is an awful practice!

I think Gilt should avoid promoting it…

I get and understand controlling hyper-pigmentation as well as getting rid of dead cells but the product says whitening cream etc.

My question is, has anyone from Gilt tried it and is it a skin whitener ?

Let me know what you think, have you used it and can vouch for it being something other than a skin whitener?

Thanks to the women in this room and people all across the country, we worked really hard — and it’s now been more than three years since Congress passed the Affordable Care Act and I signed it into law. It’s been nearly a year since the Supreme Court upheld the law under the Constitution. And, by the way, six months ago, the American people went to the polls and decided to keep going in this direction. So the law is here to stay.

I’ll do everything in my power to make sure nothing like this happens again by holding the responsible parties accountable, by putting in place new checks and new safeguards, and going forward, by making sure that the law is applied as it should be — in a fair and impartial way.

They exemplified the very idea of citizenship — that with our God-given rights come responsibilities and obligations to ourselves and to others. They embodied that idea. That’s the way they died. That’s how we must remember them. And that’s how we must live.